News

Brazil’s National Standards Agency, INMETRO, has officially joined the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme of Brazilian Customs, Receita Federal. The agreement between the two agencies means companies who become AEO-certified ‘trusted traders’ with Receita will also be able to benefit from simpler and faster interactions with INMETRO.

Daniel Dobos, particle physicist and co-founder of THE Port at CERN, explains how hackathons could create new tech to tackle trade barriers while creating the trust between governments and business essential to achieve real change.

A delegation of Moroccan officials travelled to the Netherlands as part of a project to digitise trade documents for Morocco’s agri-food sector. The Moroccan delegation met with their counterparts from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority to share their experiences of managing agri-food trade and ensure that the introduction of ePhyto in Morocco is informed by international best practice.

How can trade facilitation reforms help to create a more conducive environment for women traders in Africa? Mucha Mlingo, President of OWIT Nairobi, explains.

The Colombian National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute (Invima), is today launching a new risk management system to strengthen its inspection, surveillance and control of medicines and medical devices that enter the country through ports, airports and border crossings.

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) have signed a partnership agreement, committing to work together towards making trade with Kenya simpler, faster and more cost-effective.

In our interactive session at the Global Review of Aid for Trade, we will bring together donors, beneficiaries and businesses to discuss how a multi-stakeholder approach to trade facilitation reform can be fostered in LDCs.

How can digitising the phytosanitary certification process help to enhance food security? Craig Fedchock, Advisor at the International Plant Protection Secretariat, explains.

A delegation of Zambian government officials and business leaders is in the United States this week as part of a project to make trade with Zambia simpler, faster and more cost effective. The project, which is being led by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and the Zambia Revenue Authority, is introducing new training and licensing procedures for customs clearing agents in Zambia. The 14-strong delegation is spending one week talking to government and business representatives about the role of customs clearing agents in the U.S.

A delegation of officials from Brazil’s National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO), Ministry of the Economy, and Department of Federal Revenue (Receita Federal) has been in Washington D.C. this week exploring how automation and risk management can simultaneously increase security and facilitate trade.

Colombia is making tangible progress in improving the business environment for cross-border trade and business has a key role to play. That was the message today at the forum ‘Trade Facilitation: Opportunities for a Global Economy’ as government, the business community and international organisations gathered to discuss the trade facilitation agenda.

Leila Aridi Afas, @TheTradeLady, Director of International Public Policy at Toyota Motor North America shares her perspective on how public-private partnerships can pave the path to simpler trade.

Denmark has become the latest donor government of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (the Alliance), a public-private initiative aimed at making cross-border trade simpler, faster and more cost-effective.

Why is trade facilitation important for women and gender equality? Monity Odera, a publisher in Kenya shares her perspective.

In February, two years after the landmark ratification of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, Kenya’s Principal Secretary in the State Department of Trade, Dr. Chris Kiptoo, joined over 100 attendees from across government and business to discuss the country’s progress on implementing the agreement and how the private sector can help.